About Us

Dear Editor: Thank you for giving me a chance to respond to the accusations which Phil Templeton apparently has made against me, and giving me a chance to respond. I have not actually seen his letter, which was not sent to me, but as it has been explained to me, it includes a number of statements against me. Certain things apparently in this letter are untrue. Others are true, but have been said in such way as to create the wrong impression. My husband and I built our small home on VFW Drive, off State Farm Road, in 1973....

Our neighborhood is zoned R-1, meaning it is zoned for single-family
homes. We love the place and all the people who are our neighbors. As
you may know, Mr. Templeton or his company is attempting to develop the
property next to my home with some kind of medical facility exceeding
10,000 square feet. Whattype of facility has not been disclosed, at
least to me, and it was notdisclosed when the Board of Adjustment
considered the application for a specialuse permit to put this facility
in my R‑1 neighborhood. I think most peoplewould be upset at such a
development. The feel of my home has already been greatly affected by
the people apparentlyconnected to this development having cut down many
of the trees on the lot,some of which were quite large. Those trees had
always provided a buffer to myhome from the sights and sounds of State
Farm Road. Certainly, I was veryupset with this activity, and was
concerned about the proposed development.Therefore, I appeared at the
Board of Adjustment meeting as an interestedneighbor to express my
concern and my opposition. It is true that I testifiedagainst Mr.
Templeton's application, but before I made any comments, I told
theBoard of Adjustment that I was not appearing in my capacity as
Mayor, but as aprivate citizen. I expressed my opposition to the
project, and I alsomentioned my surprise that the Unified Development
Ordinance (UDO) allows ahospital, medical clinic, or mental health
clinic in an R‑1 neighborhood with aspecial use permit, but only if the
facility exceeds 10,000 square feet. Asmaller clinic is prohibited.
These provisions did not make sense to me, and Itold the Board so. As I
recall, other people who testified against theapplication that night
made the same point. Since then I have certainlytalked freely about
these UDO provisions. Nobody has been able to give me anexplanation as
to why large hospitals or medical clinics are allowed in R‑1, azoning
district usually only for single family homes. I still don't
understandit, and I still think this should be changed.

Mr. Templeton also apparently says I told him I would sell my house to
him. It is true I have seriously thought about selling if the proposed
development is approved, though not necessarily to him. The character
of my neighborhood has already suffered from the tree-cutting, and if
this development goes in, I feel my neighborhood will never be the
same. Therefore, I have been saying to many people, partly seriously
and partly just kidding, that I might sell if the project goes through.
Mr. Templeton did write me a letter asking how much I wanted for my
property, and I said I would consider selling for twice the tax value.
Even as of now, I have not decided that I will actually sell, and even
if I sell, I'm not sure I would sell to him. My children were raised in
this home, and I have many fond memories there. My thinking was that if
this project succeeds and ruins my neighborhood, it will cost my
husband and me at least twice the value of our current home to move to
another neighborhood within the Boone Town limits. I’m not moving to
Cary or anywhere else. Apparently, this is another assertion Mr.
Templeton has made in his letter. The suggestions which have apparently
been made that I would have any actual role in the proposed change to
the UDO to prevent large hospitals from being placed in an
R‑1neighborhood, or that my view about whether such large facilities
areappropriate in an R‑1 neighborhood would be changed by the selling
of my hometo Mr. Templeton or anyone else, are both untrue, defamatory
and ridiculous. As the Mayor, and previously as a member of the Town
Council, I have made a strong effort toprotect every R‑1 neighborhood
in town, not just my own. Also, as the Mayor, Ido not even vote on
changes to the UDO, unless there is a tie vote amongCouncil members. So
far, there has never been a tie vote, and I have neverbeen called upon
to vote so the idea that I would trade my vote for a favor isoutrageous
and untrue. If it had come up that I was called upon to vote onthis
proposed change, I would have sought the advice of the Town Attorney as
towhether it was appropriate for me to vote, and if he indicated that
it was not,I would have excused myself from the vote. As for the
statement that I have supposedly said that I was not going to runfor
Mayor again, this is also untrue. I admit that I have been
surprised,disheartened and hurt by the amount of anger and general
nastiness directedagainst me and the members of the Town Council since
I became Mayor.Personally, I thought it was courageous of the Town
Council to pass theviewshed protection and steep slope provisions that
are currently under attack in a lawsuit brough by Mr. Templeton's son.
It saddened me that people, including Mr. Templeton,who addressed the
members of the Town Council after their votes on those issue,said many
things which I considered quite ugly, and that critics of theCouncil's
action felt it necessary to resort to such language and tactics. Ihave
known Mr. Templeton for many years and until that time considered him
afriend, so I was very surprised by his apparent anger toward me,
especially

since he said at a later Town Council meeting that the protection of
the slopesand viewshed had increased the value of his property! The
truth is that I am running for Boone Mayor again this year because I
believe I can help make Boone a better place to live. I am running for
Mayor again because it’s the absolute best way I know how to accomplish
the goal of protecting neighborhoods and improving the quality of life
in Boone. I am running for Boone Mayor again this year because I firmly
believe in the interests of all of us, not just a few of us. I am
running for Mayor again this year because I love this community and all
the people who live here. I hope this clarifies the accusations against
me. Very Truly Yours, Loretta Clawson